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Zedd leaned a little closer to him and whispered. "Put your eyes back in your head, and shut your mouth."
Chagrined, Richard snapped his mouth closed and put his eyes to the front. He leaned close to Zedd, and asked in a low whisper, "Is this the kind of place she is used to?"
"No. The Mother Confessor is used to much better than this."
Overwhelmed, Richard straightened himself.
Ahead lay a grand stairway. By Richard's estimation, his entire house would fit, with room to spare, on its central landing. Carved marble railings swooped down each side. Between themselves and the stairs waited a knot of people.
At their front stood Queen Milena, an amply fed woman in layered silks of garish colors. She wore a cape trimmed in rare spotted fox. Her hair was as long as Kahlan's. At first, Richard couldn't figure out what she was holding, but when he heard the yapping, he realized it was a small dog.
As they approached, everyone but the Queen dropped to a knee in a deep bow. When they stopped, Richard stared openly; he had never seen a queen before. Zedd gave him a sideways kick. He dropped to one knee and, following Zedd's example, bowed his head. The only two who did not kneel or bow were Kahlan and the Queen. No sooner was he down than everyone was back up, with him coming to his feet last. Richard guessed that the two women must not have to bow to each other
The Queen stared at Kahlan, who, with her head held high, didn't break her calm countenance and didn't even look at the Queen. No one spoke a word.
Kahlan lifted her hand a little, only about a foot away from her body, with her arm held unbending, her hand held limply in place. The Queen's expression turned darker. Kahlan's didn't change. Richard figured that if anyone had blinked, he would have heard it. The Queen turned slightly to the side and handed the little dog to a man in a bright green, sleeved doublet and black tights with red-and-yellow striped pantaloons. There was a whole gaggle of men behind the Queen dressed in similar fashion. The dog growled viciously and bit the man's hand; he did his best not to notice.
The Queen lowered herself to both knees in front of Kahlan. A young man in plain black clothes immediately came to the Queen's side, holding a tray out in front of himself. He bowed, head bent impossibly low, holding the tray out to the Queen. She took a small towel from the tray, dipped it in a silver bowl of water, and used it to wipe her lips. She returned the towel to the tray…
The Queen took the Mother Confessor's hand lightly in her own, and kissed it with her freshly cleaned lips.
"Fidelity sworn to the Confessors, on my crown, on my land, on my life."
Richard had heard few people lie as smoothly.
Kahlan at last moved her eyes. She looked down at the Queen's bowed head. "Rise, my child."
More than a queen, indeed, Richard thought. He remembered teaching Kahlan to make a snare, to read tracks, to dig roots, and felt himself turning crimson.
Queen Milena laboriously pushed herself to her feet. Her lips smiled. Her eyes didn't. "We have not requested a Confessor."
"Nonetheless, I am here." Kahlan's voice could have frozen water.
"Yes, well, this is… grand. Simply… grand." Her face brightened. "We will have a banquet. Yes, a banquet. I will send out ru
From the corner of his eye, Richard saw Zedd stiffen. James kept his lecherous eyes on Kahlan as he gave a shallow bow. He was missing his right hand at the wrist. The oily smile he gave her made Richard reach for his sword instinctively before he realized what he was doing. Without looking over, Zedd's hand grabbed his wrist and took the hand away from the sword. Richard glanced around at the other people to see if anyone had noticed. No one had. They were all watching the Mother Confessor.
Kahlan turned to the two of them. "Zeddicus Zorander, cloud reader, trusted advisor to the Mother Confessor." Zedd bowed dramatically. "And Richard Cypher, the Seeker, protector to the Mother Confessor." Richard imitated Zedd's bow.
The Queen looked at him, lifting an eyebrow with a sour look. "Pretty pathetic protection for a Mother Confessor."
Richard made no change in his expression. Kahlan remained unruffled. "It is the sword that cuts; the man is unimportant. His brain may be small, but his arms are not. He tends to use the sword too often, though."
The Queen didn't seem to believe her. Behind the royal party, a small girl came gliding down the stairs. She wore a pink satin dress and jewelry that was too large for her. She strode up beside the Queen, flipping her long hair back over her shoulder. She did not bow.
"My daughter, the Princess Violet. Violet, dear, this is the Mother Confessor."
Princess Violet scowled up at Kahlan. "Your hair is too long. Perhaps we should cut it for you."
Richard detected the slightest smile of satisfaction on the Queen's face. He decided it was time to elevate her level of worry
The Sword of Truth came out, sending its distinctive ring around the huge room, the stone amplifying the sound. With the sword point an inch from Princess Violet's nose, he let the anger of it rage through him, to make his words more dramatic.
"Bow to the Mother Confessor," he hissed, "or die."
Zedd acted bored. Kahlan waited calmly. No one else had eyes as wide as the Princess as she stared at the sword point. She dropped to her knees and bowed her head. Standing back up, her eyes went to him, as if asking if the bow was all right.
"Be careful how you use that tongue," Richard sneered. "The next time I will separate it from you."
She nodded and walked around her mother, standing on the far side of her. Richard sheathed his sword, turned, bowed deeply to Kahlan, who didn't look at him, and returned to his station behind her.
The demonstration had the desired effect on the Queen, her voice becoming a bright singsong. "Yes, well, as I was saying, it is grand having you here. We are all simply delighted. Let us show you to our finest room. You must be tired from your journey. Perhaps you would like to rest before di
"I am not here to eat." Kahlan cut her off. "I am here to inspect your dungeon."
"Dungeon?" She made a face. "It's filthy down there. Are you sure you wouldn't rather.
Kahlan started walking. "I know the way." Richard and Zedd fell in behind her. She stopped, and turned back to the Queen. "You will wait here"-her voice was like ice-"until I am finished." As the Queen began bowing her assent, Kahlan strode off with a swish of her dress as she turned on her heels.
If Richard hadn't known her as well as he did, the entire encounter would have scared the breath out of him. In fact, he wasn't sure it hadn't.
Kahlan led them downstairs and through rooms that became less and less grandiose the deeper they went into the castle. Richard was amazed at the size of the place.
"I was hoping Giller would have been there," Kahlan said. "Then we wouldn't need to do this."
"Me too," Zedd grumbled. "You just make a quick inspection, ask if anyone wants to give a confession, and when they say no, we go back up and ask to see Giller." He gave her a smile. "You've handled it well so far, dear one." She returned the smile to the two of them. "And Richard," he cautioned, "you keep away from that artist, James."
"Why? He might draw a bad likeness of me?"
"Wipe that grin off your face. You stay away from him because he might draw a spell around you."
"A spell? Why would you need an artist to put a spell on someone?"
"Because there are many different languages in the Midlands, though the main one is the same as is spoken in Westland. To be spelled, you have to be able to understand it. If you can't speak their language, you can't put a spell on them. But everyone can understand a drawing. He can draw a spell on almost anyone, not Kahlan or me, but he can on you. Stay away from him."
Their footsteps echoed as the three quickly descended stone steps. The walls, far belowground, leaked water and were covered in places with slime.,
Kahlan indicated a heavy door to the side. "Through here."
Richard pulled it open by the iron ring, the strap hinges creaking… Torchlight lit the way down a narrow stone corridor with a ceiling he had to stoop to avoid hitting with his head. Straw covered the wet floor, and smelled of decay. Near the end she slowed to a walk and approached an iron door with a grille in it. Eyes peered out at them when she stopped.
Zedd leaned around her. "The Mother Confessor, here to see the prisoners," he growled. "Open the door."
Richard could hear the echo of a key turning in the lock. A squat man in a filthy uniform pulled the door inward. An axe hung from his belt next to the keys. He bowed to Kahlan, but looked to be a
Flickering torchlight pierced the darkness. Behind cross- hatched, flat iron bars to each side, men pushed themselves back into the corners, shielding their eyes with their hands from the sudden light. Kahlan spoke Zedd's name quietly, indicating that she wanted something. He seemed to understand, and took a torch from one of the guards and held it up in front of Kahlan so all the men in the cells could see her.